It has long been recognized that the heating of food within an oven enclosure will be more uniform throughout the food product if it is rotated during the heating process. This is particularly desirable where the product is baked such as cakes, breads or the like.
Early recognition of this concept is found in U.S. Pat. No. 416,839 to Howard and U.S. Pat. No. 557,344 to Shaw.
With the advent of microwave cooking the principle involved became even more important due to the rapidity of baking or cooking the finished product. Accordingly, others have invented structures specifically designed for microwave ovens. Examples are U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,632,838 to Schroeder and 3,177,335 to Fitzmayer et al., both of which show the use of turntables within an oven utilizing ultra-high frequency electromagnetic wave energy (hereinafter referred to as "microwave") for cooking the product within the oven.
In microwave cooking the inner and outer portions of the product within the oven are both heated simultaneously and quickly to a normal cooking temperature. However, the microwave energies are not uniformly distributed within the oven enclosure resulting in unevenness in cooking throughout the body of the food product. It is accordingly even more desirable that the food product be slowly rotated during baking within a microwave oven. As the product is rotated the food passes through uneven microwave patterns to create an even cooking effect eliminating any so-called "hot spots" in the product mass.
While the latter two of the aforementioned patents do disclose turntable mechanisms for rotating a food product container during the cooking process in a microwave oven, they are built into the oven itself thus allowing the driving motor to be disposed outside of the oven interior. These structures are accordingly expensive and are not adapted for use with ovens not so equipped by the original manufacturer.
It is accordingly desirable that a turntable construction be provided in the way of a portable accessory that can be used only when necessary or desirable within a microwave oven.